Base cup applying apparatus and method

A machine for applying cups to the bottoms of containers which have rounded botoms such that they are unstable when placed in upright position, the cups having bottoms which are sufficiently flat to be stable in upright position, said machine comprising:

• (a) a rotary transport rotatable about a vertical axis,
• (b) a plurality of upwardly open cup holders mounted on the transport for rotation with the transport about such vertical axis, such holders being spaced from one another and lying on a circle which is concentric to such vertical axis, each such holder having a bottom providing bottom support and a side wall providing lateral support for a cup,
• (c) means for intermittently rotating the transport about its vertical axis whereby each holder is indexed in turn from a cup receiving station to an adhesive applying station, thereafter to a container applying station and thereafter back to the cup receiving station, such means acting to cause a dwell at each such station between intervals of indexing motion,
• (d) cup delivery means at the cup receiving station acting, during a dwell, to deliver a cup from a supply thereof to the holder at such station,
• (e) adhesive applying means at the adhesive applying station acting, during a dwell, to apply adhesive to the interior surface of the bottom of a cup at such station,
• (f) container applying means at the container applying station acting, during a dwell, to deliver a container from a supply thereof to the cup in the holder at such station, such delivery being from above the holder and cup, such container applying means acting also to apply pressure to the cup and container in an axial direction to securely bond the bottom of the container to the adhesive in the bottom of the cup, and
• (g) means for extracting each cup and container from the transport after the cup and container leave the container applying station.